"The federal government needs to do a much better job of managing our resources, but the sale or transfer of our land is an extreme proposal and I won’t tolerate it," Zinke, who just wrapped up his first term in Congress, said in June after he voted against one such measure.

Zinke's stance squares with that of Republican president-elect Donald Trump. In an interview with Outdoor Life earlier this year, he said he was worried about efforts to sell or transfer public lands to state governments.

"I don’t like the idea because I want to keep the lands great, and you don’t know what the state is going to do. I mean, are they going to sell if they get into a little bit of trouble?" Trump told editor Anthony Licata in January.

But McMorris Rodgers isn't the only one who embraces the idea. Top Republicans -- including the sponsor of the bill that Zinke opposed in June -- believe states can do a better job at managing lands than the federal government. Even the 2016 Republican Party platform weighs in on the issue.

Those sentiments have driven numerous proposals to sell or transfer public lands to states. But Indian Country has benefited too: this year alone, Congress passed at least three bills to transfer federal lands to tribes in California.